Grain conditioner



Jan. 12 ,1926.- 1,569,201 I s. M. PIERSALL GRAIN CONDITIONER Filed July 14 1924 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYJ l atented Jan. 12, 1926.

UNITED STATES SGEBRON M. PIERSALL, OF ABILENE, KANSAS.

GRAIN CONDITIONER.

Application filed July 14, 1924.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SCEBRON M. PIERSALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Abilene, in the county of Dickinson and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Grain Conditioner, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce an efficient, simple mechanism by which there may be delivered toa flowing stream of Wheat, measured quantities of' water, sufficient to properly condition the wheat, the quantity of water being automatically varied in accordance with the initial condition of the wheat and rate of flow.

The accomanying drawings illustrate my invention. ig. 1 is an end elevation, in partial vertical sections in several planes, of an apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a plan; Fig. 3 a vertical section in planes at right angles to the plane of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 a vertical section, on a smaller scale on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

In the drawings 10 indicates a suitable delivery trough 0r chute in which there is mounted a suitable discharging conveyer, such for instance as an ordinary screw conveyer 11.

Leading into trough 10 is a downwardly inclined feed chute 12, the angle of inclination of which is slightly greater than the angle of rest of the Wheat (or other grain to be conditioned) in its most moist normal condition, said feed chute 12 leading from any suitable source of grain supply.

Mounted in chute 12 is a paddle wheel 13, the paddles of which project into trough 12 close to the bottom and sides thereof so as to be affected by the grain flowing'by gravity through said trough.

Mounted along side of trough 12 is'a pump P driven by paddle wheel 13. This pump may, of course, be of any desired form, but I prefer the particular construction shown, comprising chamber 14 and rotor 15, said rotor comprising a plurality of circumferentially arnanged tubes 16, each having an axial arm 17, a circumferential arm 18 and an intermediate radial arm 19, the arrangement being such that when rotor 15 is rotated in the proper direction the circumferential arms 18 will enter a body of water in chamber 14 and extract therefrom a measured quantity of water which is de- Serial No. 725,798.

livered through arms 19 and 17 into a discharge chamber 20 which delivers, through pipe 21, to chute 10.

Rotor 15 is carried by shaft 22 connected by gears 23 and 24 with paddle wheel 18.

Chamber 14 is connected, by pipe 25 with a supply reservoir 26 in which a constant head of water is maintained by means of valve 27 and its controlling float 28 ad j ustab-le by means of adjusting nut 29.

The quantity of water delivered to the grain reaching spout 10 is determined by the adj ust-ment of float valve 27 and the constream of grain flowing through chute 12, chamber 14, the speed of movement of the rotor 15, and the consequent delivery of water, being determined by the rate of flow of grain through chute-12 past paddle wheel 13.

. The speed of paddle wheel 13 will depend upon two conditions. First, the deeper the stream of grain flowing through chute 12, the more rapid will be the movement of paddle wheel 13 because thegravity flow of the grain through chute 12 is substantially the same irrespective of the depth of the stream and therefore, the deeper will be the contact of the grain with the paddle wheel and consequently the faster will be the rotation of the paddle wheel. Second, the gravity flow of grain through chute 12 will vary inversely as the dampness of the grain, dry grain flowing more rapidly than moist grain because the angle of rest of moist grain is greater than the angle of rest of dry grain.

It will be apparent, therefore, that there will be an automatic variation of water delivered to the grain, depending upon the quantity rate of flow and the initial moisture condition.

I claim as my invention:

1. A grain conditioner comprising a chute inclined both to the vertical and hori zontal, a paddle wheel arranged in said chute so that its paddles will project radially into the depth of a stream flowing through said chute, a water pump driven by said paddle wheel, and a delivery pipe lead-- ing from said pump to the discharge stream line of the chute.

2. A grain conditioner comprising a chute inclined both to the vertical and horizontal, a paddle wheel arranged in said chute so that its paddles will project radi- 5 pump, and a delivery pipe leading from said pump to the discharge stream line of the chute.

3. A grain conditioner comprising a chute inclined both to the verticaland horr zontal, a discharge chutelleading laterally from said inclined chute, a pump chamber, a pump rotor mounted in said pump chamberand comprising a plurality of tubes each having an axial, radial and circumferential arm, a pump discharge line arranged to receive liquid from the axial arms of said tubes and discharge the same into the lateral chute, a paddle Wheel mounted in the downwardly inclined chute and arranged to project its paddles radially into the depth of a grain stream flowing through said inclined chute, and connections between the paddle wheel and pump rotor. 4

l. A grain conditioner comprising a chute inclined both to the vertical and horizontal, a discharge chute leading laterally from said inclined chute, a pump chamber, a pump rotor mounted in said pump chamber and comprising a plurality of tubes each having an axial, radial and circumferential arm, a pump discharge line arranged to receive liquid from the axial arms of said tubes and discharge the same into the lateral chute, a paddle Wheel mounted in the downwardly inclined chute and arranged to project its paddles radially .into the depth of a grain stream flowing through said inclined chute, means for maintaininga constant water level in the pump chamber, and

connections between the paddle Wheel aiid pump rotor.

5. A grain conditioner comprising a chute inclined both to the vertical and horizontal, a paddle wheel arranged in said chute so that its paddles will project radially into the depth of a stream flowing through said chute, a pump chamber, a pump rotor 'inounted in said pump chamber and com prising a plurality of tubes each having an axial, radial and circumferential arm, a pump discharge line arranged to receive liquid from the axial arms of said tubes and discharge the same into the discharge flow line from the inclined chute, and connections between the paddle wheel and pump rotor.

(3. A grain conditioner comprising a chute inclined both to the vertical and horizontal, a paddle Wheel arrangedin said chute so tl'iatits paddles will project radially into the depth of a stream flowing through said chute, a pump chamber, a pump rotor mounted .in said pump chamber and comprising a plurality of tubes each having an axial, radial and circumterenti-al arm, a pump discharge line arranged to receive liquid from the axial arms ot-said tubes and discharge'the same into the discharge flow line Y from the inclined chute, means for maintaining a constant water level in the pump chamber, and connections between the .paddlewheel and pump rotor.

In Witness whereof, I, Soncaox M. 'PmnsALL, have hereunto set my hand at Abilene,

Kansas, this QZth-day of June, A. Dmone thousand nine hundred and twenty-four.

SCEBRON M. PIERSALL. 

